William and Mary student appears on Oprah's Favorite Things Show

Danny Yates plans to use gifts to raise money for Haiti charity

WILLIAMSBURG — — During his plane ride from Richmond to Chicago Monday, Danny Yates kept himself busy thinking about what he would tell Oprah Winfrey about his non-profit Hinche Scholars project when he appeared on her talk show the next day.

"I knew I wouldn't have a lot of time to talk about my organization so I came up with an elevator speech to give to Oprah," said Yates, 19, who organized the project that's helping displaced Haitian college students continue their education in the United States. "I perfected that speech."

Yates never got a chance to give Winfrey his "perfect" speech. Minutes into the three and a half hour taping Tuesday Winfrey surprised Yates and other audience members by letting them know they would be a part of on her Favorite Things show, an annual event where the talk show host showers members of her audience with high-priced gifts worth tens of thousands of dollars.

"All I could think about is they tricked us as they pulled back the curtains on the set and snow began to fall all around us," Yates said. "When they told us what was going on people started crying, jumping up and down and hugging each other. I just kind of sat there clapping because I didn't really understand what was going on."

In the final season of her talk show, Winfrey decided to honor hometown heroes for their humanitarian efforts by allowing them to be a part of the highly sought-after show.

Ken Henshaw, president of the Richmond-based "I Have a Dream" organization, nominated his and Yate's non-profits for the show, which was looking for unsung hometown heroes. Henshaw hoped it would be a way to get more publicity for their organizations, which are currently working with Barber-Scotia College, a historically black institution near Charlotte, N.C., that is allowing displaced Haitian college students to attend school there. The Hinche Scholars program pays the students' room and board fees.

Both Yates and Henshaw attended the show, which aired Friday.

Yates, who has never really watched the talk show, said he stuck out in the audience because he sat calmly while people around him were hysterical about being a part of the show.

"The lady sitting next to me asked me, 'You don't know what's going on, do you?'" Yates said. "I told her no, but I knew it was an honor to be recognized by Oprah."

As the gifts kept pouring in, Yates began to understand why the audience was so excited. The gifts included a television, cruise vacation, digital camera and diamond watch, Yates said.

"We left with tote bags full of stuff and the rest of the stuff will be mailed to us," Yates said.

So what does Yates plan to do with the loot?

He said he'll give some of it away to family members as Christmas presents and possibly auction off the remaining items to raise money for the project or for plane tickets to go back to Haiti to do more humanitarian work.

"I have everything I need — my health, my family, a place to live and I'm getting a good education," Yates said. "I don't really need anything else."

Want to know more?

For more information about the Hinche Scholars project, visit hincherelief.wordpress.com